I 


roceedings  at  the 

BANQUET 

PROFESSOR  JOSEPH  LECONTE 

ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION 

Nfl\ 'ERS1TY  01  FORNIA 

• 


JOSEPH   LECONTE 

Our  honored  and  beloved  guest 

"Professor  Joe" 


PROCEEDINGS. 

The  Alumni  Association  of  the  University  of 
California  tendered  to  Professor  JOSEPH  LECONTE,  on 
the  occasion  of  his  return  from  Europe,  a  banquet 
at  the  California  Hotel,  San  Francisco,  on  Saturday 
evening,  September  24,  1892. 

To  the  music  of  tl  Hail  to  the  Chief"  the  Alumni 
and  their  honored  guest  proceeded  to  the  banquet- 
room  where  an  excellent  meal  was  partaken,  after 
which  the  President  of  the  Association,  Mr.  J.  B. 
REINSTEIN,  spoke  as  follows: 

Fellow  Graduates: 

For  many  years  it  has  been  the  fashion  for  us  of  the  West 
to  turn  like  the  Musselman  toward  the  Hast,  not  only  for 
the  first  rays  of  physical  light,  but  also  for  the  first  glimmer 
of  mental  and  moral  advancement,  and  though  this  custom 
is  now  happily  growing  somewhat  out  of  date,  permit  me 
to  take  from  the  Orient  a  sentence  which  crystallizes  the 
religion  of  the  Koran:  "There  is  but  one  God,  and  Ma- 
homet is  his  prophet,"  and  paraphrase  it  into  something 
truer,  more  fitted  to  the  history  and  status  of  our  Alma 
Mater,  and  more  appropriate  to  this  gathering  and  its  hon- 
ored guest,  and  say,  "There  is  but  one  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  its  prophet  is  Professor  Joseph  LeConte.  " 

However  we  may  differ  as  to  the  religion  of  the  Koran 
or  any  religion,  as  to  politics,  purposes  or  pursuits,  however 
divergent  our  views,  our  hopes,  our  aims,  or  our  acts,  there 
is  one  sentiment  which  finds  a  spontaneous,  hearty  and 

(i) 


ringing  echo  in  the  breast  of  every  graduate  here,  and  hosts 
who  are  not,  who  are  yet  with  us  in  spirit  and  sympathy, — 
a  rallying  cry — now,  and  we  hope  for  many  years  to  come, 
there  is  but  one  University  of  the  State  of  California,  there 
is  but  one  Professor  Jos.  LeConte. 

Needless  to  dwell  on  the  latter  part  of  this  statement. 
As  truly  as  it  was  said  of  the  greatest  Roman  of  them  all, 
we  may  say,  ' '  His  life  has  been  gentle  and  all  the  elements 
so  mixed  in  him  that  nature  might  stand  up  and  say  to  all 
the  world, — this  is  a  man."  His  fame  royal  in  the  land 
beyond  the  seas,  his  name  a  household  word  with  us,  as  re- 
vered as  he  is  loved,  by  every  person  who  has  come  within 
the  wide  range  of  his  beneficent  influence. 

And  as  to  the  first  part  of  the  sentiment,  if  there  be  any 
doubt  it  rests  with  us  to  put  it  beyond  that  pale,  and  place 
it  beyond  the  range  of  question. 

Truer  than  the  celebrated  reply  of  Marshal  Ney,  that  he 
himself  was  the  rear  guard  of  the  Grand  Army  of  Invasion, 
is  the  statement  that  the  Alumni  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia constitute  the  University,  and  it  is  nothing  more  and 
nothing  less  than  what  its  graduates  make  it.  They  are  its 
sole  product,  they  are  its  entire  reason  for  existence,  and  if 
it  were  ever  true  that  the  tree  is  judged  by  its  fruit,  the 
University  of  California  is  measured  and  will  be  measured 
by  the  life  work  of  its  Alumni.  Their  labors,  their  stand- 
ards, their  hopes,  aims,  ambitions  and  acts  shall  give  it 
dignity,  prestige,  renown,  or  the  reverse.  Without  them, 
the  splendid  liberality  of  a  glorious  and  sovereign  state,  the 
wisdom  of  its  governing  Board  of  Regents,  the  superb  per- 
sonnel of  its  Faculty,  may  strive  for  success,  but  in  vain. 
It  rests  with  us  and  with  us  alone,  accepting  the  challenge 
of  public  opinion,  and  public  expectation,  based  on  all  our 
advantages,  to  be  worthy  of  our  opportunities,  equal  to  our 

(2) 


obligations  and  mindful  of  our  high  estate,  and  in  this  sense 
and  with  this  view,  let  us  take  this  sentiment,  not  as  a  boast- 
ful rallying  cry,  but  as  a  stirring  summons  to  duty  and  high 
resolve  and  lofty  deed.  A  bugle  call  of  noblesse  oblige. 

I  give  you  the  sentiment  of  the  evening,  and  ask  you  to 
drink  it  standing:  "There  is  but  one  University  of  Cali- 
fornia; there  is  but  one  Professor  Joseph  L,eConte." 

The  President  in  calling  upon  the  Hon.  JOHN  R. 
GLASCOCK  for  a  response  to  the  first  half  of  the  sen- 
timent, gave  as  the  toast,  "  The  State  of  California's 
University,"  more  shortly  known  as  the  University, 
and  as  its  graduates  feel  even  more  truly  termed, 
the  University, —  to  which  Mr.  GLASCOCK  responded 
as  follows: 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Graduates: 

I  have  been  requested  to  respond  to  the  toast  "  the 
University  of  California."  under  a  ten  minutes  limitation. 
Science  has  shown  us  that  large  bodies,  under  high  pres- 
sure, can  be  reduced  to  smallest  compass  and  yet  preserve 
the  elemental  force  and  effectiveness  of  the  original  body; 
but  by  what  process  of  mental  hydraulics  can  our  Alma 
Mater  be  reduced  to  the  limits  of  a  ten  minutes  talk,  with- 
out the  rankest  kind  of  injustice  to  the  grace  and  dignity 
of  her  fair  proportions,  the  high  order  of  her  influence,  the 
nobility  of  her  mission  ? 

There  are  those  among  us  to-night  who  helped  to  rock 
the  cradle  of  her  infancy,  who  have  watched  her  growth, 
the  expansion  of  her  powers  and  the  maturing  of  all  those 
qualities  that  go  to  make  her  a  true  priestess  of  learning, 
until  to-day  she  stands  before  us  the  embodiment  of  cul- 
tured grace  and  strength — the  exemplar,  bar  none,  of 
western  progress. 

(3) 


Once  more  we  are  gathered  to  hang  our  garlands  about 
her  altar  while  we  do  honor  to  him  whose  hair  has  whitened 
in  the  service  of  her  high  behests — the  wisest,  gentlest, 
strongest  of  those  children  of  light,  whose  life  has  been 
the  fulfillment  of  the  injunction  laid  by  the  Great  Master 
upon  those  who  were  to  be  as  wise  as  the  serpent,  yet 
harmless  as  the  dove. 

Children,  did  I  say  ?  Yes,  children  of  one  mother,  yet 
not  children.  Men  and  women  rather,  not  a  few  of  whose 
faces  (of  course  I  refer  now  to  the  men)  begin  to  show 
furrows  of  thought  and  care,  upon  not  a  few  of  whose 
heads  the  silver  hand  of  time  has  been  laid,  while  from 
the  mass  of  brown  and  black  and  yellow  before  me,  now 
and  then  there  rises  like  some  sun-kissed  cypress  tree 
above  the  dull  and  stagnant  waters  of  a  southern  swamp, 
in  sharp  contrast,  a  stately  forehead,  turned  now,  alas, 
always  to  the  stars,  whose  presence  brings  with  it  the  com- 
panionship ot  a  lost  youth,  while  consoling  us  in  the  re- 
alization of  the  falsity  of  the  adage,  ' '  death  loves  a  shin- 
ing mark." 

I  remember  reading  some  where  that  an  Indian  sage, 
being  asked  by  a  disciple,  what  became  of  man  after  death, 
replied  that  the  soul  returned  to  Brahma,  the  voice  to  the 
winds,  the  blood  to  water  and  the  body  to  earth.  "But," 
returned  the  disciple,  ' '  is  there  nothing  that  remains  ? ' ' 
( '  Yes, ' '  answered  the  sage,  ' '  the  deed  remains. ' '  It  was  the 
voice  of  Deity  speaking  through  the  superstition  of  the  past. 
The  deed  remains.  High  thought,  lofty  purpose,  are  as 
naught  unless  crystallized  into  the  deed.  The  deed  is  what 
speaks.  The  question  to  be  asked  hereafter  will  not  be  what 
might  you  have  done,  but  what  have  you  done. 

If  it  should  be  asked  what  remains  of  the  personality   of 
Henry   Durant,  how  long  would  we  who  reverence  his  name 

(4) 


remain  in  doubt  as  to  the  answer  ?  The  mighty  deed  that 
he  accomplished  when  he  laid -the  foundation  and  planned 
the  superstructure  of  the  University  of  California. 

Time  will  not  permit  a  statement  of  details,  nor  allow  more 
than  a  passing  glimpse  at  the  formative  period  of  her  exist- 
ence. The  sharp  struggle  for  infant  life,  the  hopes,  fears, 
disappointments,  anxieties,  sorrows,  rejoicings,  defeats  and 
victories  that  marked  the  various  stages  of  her  growth,  are 
matters  of  University  history  known  to  all  of  us.  We  take 
her  as  she  is,  a  mighty  engine  capable  alike  for  good  or  evil, 
according  to  the  manner  in  which  she  is  handled,  and  the 
direction  given  to  her  manifold  energies.  She  is  the  loom 
on  which  the  threads  of  a  world's  knowledge  are  woven  into 
the  warp  and  woof  of  the  personality  of  her  products.  The 
quality  of  the  material  turned  out  depends  upon  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  machinery  employed,  and  the  character  of  the 
raw  material  worked  up.  To  insure  perfection  of  machinery 
there  must  be  no  jarring  nor  clashing  of  its  parts.  It  must 
work  harmoniously  as  a  whole,  or  wasted  energy  and  dis- 
torted product  will  result.  No  university  can  succeed  until 
all  of  its  departmental  ganglia  connect  with  a  common  center, 
big  enough  and  strong  enough  to  control,  regulate  and  har- 
monize its  working  forces.  Until  this  shall  happen  Universit}- 
progress  must  of  necessity  be  spasmodic,  halting  and  inef- 
fective. When  it  does  occur  University  deeds  will  speak  as 
with  the  tongues  of  angels. 

We  are  the  raw  materials  worked  up  by  our  University. 
As  we  reflect  the  character  and  quality  of  her  teaching  so 
she  reflects  the  character  and  quality  of  our  lives  and  deeds. 
I  doubt  if  it  ever  occurs  to  us  seriously  that  our  Alma  Mater 
will  be  judged  by  the  deeds  of  her  children.  I  fear  that  too 
often  the  only  thought  we  give  her  is  at  our  annual  or  other 
reunions  when  we  chant  her  praises,  recall  the  pleasant 

(5) 


memories  of  her  gentle  guidance  through  four  short  years  of 
loving  companionship,  and  pledge  her  periodically  undying 
devotion.  She  does  not  need  or  want  that  sporadic  fealty 
which  is  born  of  the  wine  cup  amid  the  enthusiasm  of  a  ban- 
quet, and  which  is  too  frequently  epitomized  in  the  college 
refrain, — "we  won't  go  there  any  more."  What  she  does 
need  and  want  is  full  and  constant  return  for  the  affection 
she  has  lavished  upon  us,  a  watchfnl  protection  of  her  rights 
and  an  exemplification  in  our  lives  of  the  worth  and  effect- 
iveness of  her  instruction.  She  wants  deeds  from  us,  as  men 
and  women,  that  will  reflect  luster  upon  our  Alma  Mater. 

We  are  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  and  our  lives  and  deeds  will 
be  the  measure  of  her  standing  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion. 
Our  deeds  are  her  deeds,  our  disgrace,  her  disgrace,  our 
glory,  her  glory. 

The  plane  of  intellectual  brotherhood  is  broad  enough  to 
include  all  who  strive  earnestly  for  advancement.  We  may 
not,  therefore,  be  taxed  with  treachery  to  our  Alma  Mater 
when  we  extend  a  hearty  greeting  to  her  younger  sister  who 
now  so  bravely  fronts  the  steep  with  the  star  of  hope  shining 
on  her  brow.  ' '  All  hail  and  welcome,  Palo  Alto  !  Room  for 
another  queen  on  the  heights  that  overlook  the  mad  hurry 
and  turmoil  of  life  !  Not  the  least  of  the  ties  between  is  that 
of  blood.  Our  association  has  its  representation  among  the 
working  forces  of  your  institution.  The  soil  is  good,  the 
harvest  abundant.  No  other  thought  than  that  of  generous 
emulation  shall  stir  the  harmony  existing  between  us." 

Fellow  Graduates,  I  need  not  tell  you  that  it  is  necessary 
not  only  that  we  should  not  relax  our  vigilance  over  the 
interests  of  our  Alma  Mater;  but  that  we  should  redouble 
our  efforts  in  her  behalf.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood 
as  meaning  that  she  is  likely  to  retrograde,  nor  to  deny 
her  good  work  and  high  standard  of  efficiency.  She  is  do- 

(6) 


ing  well,  but  should  do  better.  There  are  other  hills  to 
surmount,  other  different  and  broader  lines  of  educational 
policy  to  be  mapped  out,  along  which  her  course  should 
rise  and  expand.  These  lines  of  policy  should  be  shaped 
and  their  agencies  controlled  by  those  who  love  her  best 
— her  children.  There  is  necessity,  pressing  necessity,  for 
active,  persistent  and  continuous  effort  on  our  part  to  pro- 
mote the  best  interests  of  an  institution  that  claims  and 
should  receive  our  reverence,  love  and  whole-souled  support. 

When  the  children  of  Israel  fleeing  from  Egyptian  tyr- 
rany,  halted  at  the  sea,  with  the  lights  of  Baal-Zephon 
gleaming  in  their  faces  across  a  waste  of  angry  waters, 
while  the  chariots  of  Pharaoh  thundered  in  their  rear;  when 
hideous  confusion  reigned  supreme  over  a  chaotic  mass 
of  trembling,  frightened  humanity;  when,  like  hunted  ani- 
mals, they  turned  from  the  sea  to  the  chariots  and  back 
to  the  sea  again  in  vain  hope  of  a  refuge  which  was  not; 
when  the  blackness  of  the  darkness  without  was  only 
equalled  by  the  blackness  of  despair  within;  when  life  and 
death  hung  shaking  in  the  balance,  a  voice  came  to  the 
prophet,  ' '  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that  they  go 
forward  !"  And  in  that  voice  was  the  preservation  of  an 
empire. 

So  now  to  you,  men  and  women  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, a  voice  comes,  ' '  Speak  unto  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia that  she  go  forward. ' '  Speak  through  your  hopes  for 
educational  progress,  through  your  love  for  your  Alma  Mater. 
Speak  through  your  deeds,  and  the  University  will  move  to 
the  fulfillment  of  her  high  destiny. 

Music:     "  Berkeley,  Oh  Berkeley  !  " 


Mr.  WARREN  C.  GREGORY  of  the  Class  of  1887 
thereupon  responded  to  the  toast,  "  There  is  but 
one  Professor  Joseph  LeConte.  First  in  science, 
first  in  the  Faculty,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  the 
Alumni." 

Mr.  President: 

The  sentiment  you  have  given  us:  ''First  in  the  hearts 
of  the  alumni,"  tells  the  whole  story: 

For  over  twenty  years  the  name  L,eConte  has  been  so 
inseparably  connected  with  that  of  the  University  that  the 
mention  of  the  one  unconsciously  suggests  the  other  and 
every  graduate  realizes  how  very  unnecessary  it  is  for 
anyone  of  our  number  to  speak  of  our  guest  to-night  in 
terms  of  formal  praise  or  eulogy.  The  hearty  cheer,  the 
spontaneous  enthusiasm  which  greets  every  reference  to 
his  name,  speaks  of  the  deep  affection  and  love  we  bear 
him,  far  more  emphatically  than  can  any  words  of  mine. 

Fellow  Graduates,  we  have  met  to-night  to  again  be  with 
our  beloved  professor.  We  welcome  him  not  only  as  the 
learned  man  and  distinguished  teacher,  but  also  as  the 
companion  of  our  student  life.  We  have  come  to  once 
more  feel  the  great  charm  and  influence  of  a  personality 
which  always  seems  to  have  caught  some  of  "Nature's 
genial  glow",  an  influence,  silent  indeed,  but  as  potent  as 
any  we  have  known  towards  lifting  us  to  loftier  ideals 
of  the  good  and  true. 

Many  of  our  number  have  by  reason  of  the  cares  and 
duties  of  business  life  been  unable  to  keep  fully  in  touch 
with  Berkeley  life  or  Berkeley  doings.  Her  Faculty  shows 
many  changes  in  its  personnel  since  we  were  there  and 
has  many  faces  new  to  most  of  us.  But  let  us  rejoice  to 
assure  our  guest  that  he  is  no  stranger  to  any  here,  that 

(8) 


from  the  inception  of  the  college  to  the  present  day  no 
son  or  daughter  has  left  the  halls  of  our  Alma  Mater  to 
whom  his  face  is  not  a  "  familiar  and  a  friend."  And 
let  us  assure  him  also  that  we  still  desire  to  be  enrolled 
among  his  constituency,  a  constituency  which  does  not 
waver  or  falter,  but  which  grows  in  numbers  and  in  strength 
as  the  years  go  by,  a  following  which  will  ever  hold  him 
in  grateful  and  loving  remembrance. 

Of  his  services  to  the  University,  and  to  the  cause  of 
education  at  large,  it  is  idle  for  me  to  speak.  We  can 
every  one  of  us  testify  to  the  one,  from  pleasant  recollec- 
tions of  the  lecture-room  in  old  South  Hall,  and  the 
learned  men  and  societies  of  the  world  bear  grateful  tri- 
bute to  the  other. 

But  there  is  one  particular  in  which  the  professor  is  not 
infallible.  He  has  long  claimed  that  he  is  a  Southerner 
and  not  more  than  a  year  or  so  ago  endeavored  to  fur- 
ther test  our  credulity  by  describing  his  native  Southern 
home  "  revisited."  For  aught  I  know  he  may  now  claim 
to  be  an  Englishman,  indeed  I  have  it  on  reliable  author- 
ity that  while  in  Kngland  he  was  seen  promenading 
Rotten  Row  with  the  rest  of  the  nobility,  adorned  with  one 
of  those  high  silk  tiles  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  every 
Britisher.  But  we  know  when  he  thus  claims  Georgia 
or  a  foreign  land  as  his  native  heath  that  he  is  simply 
attempting  one  of  his  little  jokes.  We  know  that  he  is 
and  always  has  been  a  Californian,  a  pioneer.  Of  this  he 
stands  self- convicted  for  he  has  taken  away  from  us  ex- 
clusive ownership  in  our  great  mountains  and  rivers,  our 
Sierras  and  Sequoias,  and  made  them  the  common  pro- 
perty of  all  men.  And  in  unguarded  moments  too  he  has 
spoken  of  ' '  our  ' '  rocks  and  ' '  our  ' '  trees.  Can  he  now 
throw  off  his  allegiance  and  say  that  he  is  not  as  they 
are  "native  here  and  to  the  manor  born"  ? 

(9) 


When  I  was  an  undergraduate  it  was  said  that  Pro- 
fessor I^eConte  had  never  taken  a  vacation.  This  it 
would  be  hard  to  make  those  believe  who  have  had  the 
good  fortune  to  read  his  rough  notes  on  mountain  climb- 
ing and  with  them  have  followed  him  in  his  explorations 
over  our  Sierras  with  his  body-guard  of  students.  But 
these  short  expeditions  were  always  taken  as  much  for 
research  and  investigation  as  for  recreation  and  the  world 
was  sure  to  be  reminded  of  them  afterwards  by  some  new 
discovery  in  the  natural  wonders  of  our  State.  A  year 
ago,  however,  he  consented  to  take  a  much  needed  rest 
in  foreign  lands.  Thither  we  followed  him,  there  in  fancy 
we  have  heard  him  addressing  this  or  that  gathering  of 
scientific  men  with  the  voice  and  accent  so  familiar  to 
us,  delighting  all  with  those  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
we  so  much  admire.  But  the  Regents  finally  determined 
they  must  have  him  back  even  if  they  had  to  raise  his 
salary  and  now  we  find  him  again  at  his  well-known 
post,  renewed,  we  trust,  in  health  and  strength. 

Speaking  of  those  rough  mountain  notes  doubtless  many 
will  recall  his  fierce  description  of  himself  on  starting  out 
and  the  rough  attire  and  broad  brim  hat  from  which,  as 
he  said,  his  little  son  shrank  as  did  Hector's  baby  boy 
shrink  from  the  nodding  plume  of  his  warlike  sire.  But 
he  cannot  make  that  boast  now,  for  the  governing  board 
of  our  college  have  concluded  that  this  same  little  son 
would  himself  make  a  good  warrior  and  now  we  have 
another  Joseph  L,eConte  enlisted  in  the  ranks  of  Univer- 
sity teachers.  That  he  may  follow  the  example  his  father 
has  set  for  him  and  that  the  voices  of  generations  of  stu- 
dents may  continue  to  ring  the  name  through  Berkeley 
corridors  as  heartily  as  do  those  of  to-day,  is  our  most 
earnest  hope  and  desire. 

(10) 


And  this  brings  me  to  another  very  pleasant  theme,  the 
I^eConte  Memorial  Scholarship  Fund.  With  its  origin  and 
purpose  you  are  already  familiar.  It  is  now  my  happy 
privilege  to  announce  its  completion.  With  the  money 
already  secured  and  that  subscribed,  the  fund  has  reached 
its  projected  limit.  That  it  also  may  bear  fruit  worthy 
of  its  name  is  all  we  ask  of  it. 

And  now,  Professor,  in  behalf  of  your  former  pupils,  as 
well  those  who  are  distant  from  us  to-night  as  those  who 
are  gathered  round  this  board,  I  extend  to  you  a  most 
cordial  welcome  home. 

Music  :  u  For  He's  a  Jolly  Good  Fellow,"  which 
the  graduates  sang  with  hearty  and  rousing  feeling. 

A  letter  of  thanks  was  then  read  from  JOSEPH  N. 
LfiCoNTE  ("Little  Joe"),  the  first  beneficiary  of  the 
LeConte  Scholarship  F^und,  thanking  the  Alumni 
Association  for  the  benefits  he  had  derived  from  the 
fund. 

Thereupon  the  President  said:  "  Fellow  Grad- 
uates:" Upon  the  wall  lianas  a  crayon  picture  of 
our  beloved  Professor,  a  perfect  likeness  of  him, 
draped  with  the  blue  and  gold  colors  of  that  Uni- 
versity with  which  so  much  of  his  life's  work  has 
been  entwined.  On  the  ribbon  knot  which  ties  the 
wreath  drawn  around  the  head  are  printed  the  words 
"  honesty,  industry,  sincerity."  the  three  great  motives 
he  has  been  wont  to  consider  as  shaping  his  splen- 
did efforts.  The  drawing  is  a  gift  to  our  beloved 
Professor  from  the  Alumni  Association,  loaded  down 
with  the  heartfelt  best  wishes  of  every  graduate  of 


our  University.  Upon  the  left  at  the  base  of  the 
picture  is  a  miniature  picture  of  Dr.  John  LeConte, 
and  on  the  right  a  poem  written  by  Mrs.  E.  J. 
McHENRY.  entitled  "  Professor  Joe,"  the  words  of 
which  we  will  now  listen  to  from  the  lips  of  Mrs. 
WILLIAM  KEITH,  daughter  of  the  author." 

"PROFESSOR  JOB." 

'Tis  "Professors  John  and  Joe"  no  more, 

Only  ' '  Professor  Joe, ' ' 
With  his  hair  a  little  whiter 

And  his  step  a  little  slow; 
But  we  love  him  all  the  better, 

And  we  cannot  let  him  go, 
No  matter  who  may  want  him, 

Our  own  ' '  Professor  Joe. ' ' 

The  brother  who  is  resting 

Could  tell  us  of  the  bound 
Of  the  forces  of  great  Nature, 

Of  light,   and  heat,  and  sound; 
But  ' '  Professor  Joe ' '  must  tell  us 

How  well  two  things  agree, 
The  growing  Light  of  Science 

And  Immortality. 

Then  may  he  tarry  with  us, 

Long  ere  he  has  to  go; 
For  this  would  not  seem  Berkeley 

Without  "  Professor  Joe." 


(12) 


Professor    JOSEPH   LECONTE    thereupon    rose   and 
with    much    feeling,    and  in  his  own  dear  way,  said: 

Mr.  President,    Graduates  of  the  University,  My  Friends,  My 
Pupils,  My  Boys  and  My  Girls  : 

You  know  that  when  you  were  under  my  tuition  I  never 
called  you  boys  and  girls;  I  never  call  students  so.  I  don't 
like  to  hear  them  call  one  another  so.  They  are  already 
far  too  boyish.  There  is  far  too  much  of  the  rudeness,  the 
brutality,  thoughtless  cruelty,  characteristic  of  all  young  per- 
sons. I  wish  to  cultivate  in  them  the  sense  of  manhood  and 
womanhood.  But  now  that  there  is  no  longer  any  uncer- 
tainty as  to  your  position  as  men  and  women;  now  that 
some  of  you  are  already  touched  lightly  with  untimely  frosts; 
now  that  there  is  no  longer  any  law  of  restraint  between  us 
but  only  perfect  freedom  to  express  our  innermost  heart — 
now  I  yearn  to  call  you  my  boys,  my  girls. 

You  think  I  have  done  you  some  good,  and  you  have 
taken  this  graceful  way  of  acknowledging  it.  I  hope  I  have, 
but  do  not  for  a  moment  imagine  that  you  have  not  given 
me  as  much  as  you  have  received.  You  remember  that  your 
old  Professor  of  Physics — Dr.  John — taught  you  that  '  'action 
is  equal  to  reaction,  and  in  opposite  directions."  Now  I  say 
that  what  is  true  in  Physics  is  also  .true  in  Psychics;  what 
is  true  in  the  world  of  matter  is  also  true  in  the  world  of 
spirit.  In  all  that  is  best  in  teaching,  in  the  formation  of 
character,  in  quickening  mental  activity,  in  kindling  enthu- 
siasm, and  in  inspiring  with  the  love  of  Truth,  it  is  always 
fair  exchange,  a  giving  and  taking,  between  teacher  and 
pupil.  We  old  fellows  are  apt  to  think  that  we  alone  teach, 
but  action  is  equal  and  only  equal  to  reaction.  We  teach 
only  if,  and  only  in  proportion  as,  we  are  taught.  The 
same  is  true  even  in  the  case  of  children.  We  parents  think 
we  teach  our  children  but  we  little  think  how  much  our. 

(13) 


children,  even  our  babies,  teach  us.  It  seems  to  me  that  my 
children  have  taught  me  even  more  than  I  have  ever  taught 
them.  But  I  suppose  I  am  mistaken;  I  suppose  that  reac- 
tion is  only  equal  to  action.  I  shall  not  stop  here  to  discuss 
the  many  applications  of  this  principle,  especially-  the  mu- 
tual and  helpful  relations  of  all  classes  in  a  healthy  pro- 
gressive society,  but  I  cannot  help  saying  to  you  young 
men  and  women  that  the  most  powerful  educational  institu- 
tion in  the  world  is  the  family,  and  not  only  for  the  edu- 
cation of  children,  but  also  of  grown-up  people. 

But  I  am  digressing — I  come  back.  I  was  trying  to  tell 
you  how  much  you  have  done  for  me  in  promoting  my 
intellectual  growth.  How  ?  you  ask.  I  will  tell  you.  It  is 
a  fact  that  nearly  every  good  thought  I  ever  had  was  born 
in  my  mind  during  immediate  preparation  for  my  class  lec- 
ture. You  know  my  habit:  how  for  two  hours  before  going 
into  my  class-room  I  pace  the  floor,  or  else  sit  with  eyes 
shut  and  thumbs  on  my  ears,  in  intense  thought — my  class 
in  imagination  before  me,  and  I  talking  to  them.  I  thus 
go  over  the  lecture  at  least  twice,  even  though  the  subject 
may  be  perfectly  familiar  to  me.  In  this  way  I  arouse  afresh 
my  interest  even  to  the  point  of  enthusiasm.  As  warmth 
and  concealment  are  necessary  for  the  germination  of  seed, 
so  the  heat  of  preparation  and  the  retirement  of  my  study — 
yet  with  the  class  present  in  imagination — is  necessary  for 
the  germination  of  the  best  seed-thoughts.  But  more  than 
this:  nearly  everything  that  I  ever  wrote,  whether  of  books 
or  articles,  was  first  given  in  outline,  or  in  the  form  of  sug- 
gestions, to  my  classes. 

There  has  been  much  talk  recently  about  endowment  of 
research.  I  entirely  sympathise  with  the  movement.  There 
can  hardly  be  too  much  of  it.  Any  government  or  any  in- 
stitution honors  itself  by  liberally  endowing  research.  But 

(H) 


when  we  go  farther,  as  some  do,  and  talk  about  divorcing 
research  from  teaching,  in  accordance  with  a  supposed  uni- 
versal law  of  differentiation  of  human  pursuits  or  division 
of  labor,  then  we  make  a  fatal  mistake.  What  the  laws  of 
nature  and  of  the  human  spirit  (which  are  the  laws  of  God) 
have  joined  together,  let  no  man  put  asunder.  The  teacher 
is  all  the  better  teacher  for  being  an  investigator.  All,  I 
suppose,  will  admit  that.  But,  also,  the  investigator  is  all 
the  better  investigator  for  being  a  teacher,  only  he  must  not 
be  burdened  with  teaching  to  the  extent  of  leaving  no  time 
for  investigation.  Nothing  so  clears,  systematizes,  organizes, 
our  own  thoughts  as  does  the  honest,  earnest  attempt  to 
make  them  clear  to  others. 

Now,  I  have  been  trying  to  show  you  that  the  obligations 
between  us  are  mutual  and  equal;  but  you  seem  to  think 
that  they  are  all  on  your  side,  and  you  are  trying  to  get 
even,  but  not  so;  we  were  already  even  before,  and  you  now 
destroy  the  balance  by  the  honors  you  do  me  and  the  pleas- 
ant things  you  have  said  about  me.  What  shall  I  do  and 
say  to  restore  the  equilibrium  ?  If  I  had  only  known  all  the 
pleasant  and  flattering  things  that  would  be  said  I  might 
hope  to  reply  suitably.  I  might  give  as  good  as  I  got.  But 
alas!  I  am  not  one  of  those  nimble- witted  spirits  who,  like 
Bottom,  the  Weaver,  can  play  any  part  alike  off-hand,  whether 
it  be  the  Lover's  part  or  the  Lion's  part,  or  "  a  part  to  tear 
a  cat  in,  and  make  all  split."  No;  I  am  like  Snug,  the 
Joiner,  "  I  am  slow  of  study."  Even  if  it  be  only  the  Lion's 
part,  which  indeed  you  seem  determined  to  force  on  me — 
even  if  it  be  only  the  Lion's  part,  therefore,  nothing  but  roar- 
ing, I  would  have  it  written  so  that  I  might  con  it,  other- 
wise I  might  "roar  too  terribly,  and  that  would  fright  the 
ladies."  But  there  are  some  things  which  I  can  say  off- 
hand, and  now  proceed  to  say  them. 

(15) 


Since  I  saw  you  last  I  have  wandered  far  and  seen  many 
peoples  of  many  races   and   tongues.     I  have   admired   each 
for  some   distinctive   quality  in  which  it  excelled  all  others, 
but  I  have  come  back  to  my  own  country  and  my  own  State, 
well  satisfied  that  if  our  civilization  is  more  crude  and  lower 
in  development-  it  is  more  complex  in  its  elements,  and  there- 
fore higher  in  its  type.     I  have  visited  many  of  the  foremost 
universities  of  Europe   and  in  the   eastern   part  of  our   own 
country  and  have  admired  each  for  some  peculiar  excellence, 
but  I  have  come  back  to  our  own  better   satisfied  and  more 
hopeful  than  ever.     Not  but  that  there  is  much,  very  much, 
room  for  improvement,  but  it  must  be  improvement  by  growth 
and   development,    not   by  essential   change.     She   is   on  the 
right  track;    let   her  go  on.     The   evidence  of  this  is  before 
me  in  this  assembly  of  her  graduates.     I  have  attended  many 
commencements  of  our  best  universities  in  the  East,  not  only 
during  this  absence  but  on  previous  occasions.     I  have  con- 
versed   with    many    alumni    of   many    universities,    both    in 
Europe  and  this  country,   and  I  come  back  to  you.     Now  I 
am  not  going  to  flatter  you,  you  need  not  expect  it,  but  I  can 
say  with  truth,  that  I  am  not   ashamed  of  our   own   gradu- 
ates  in   comparison.     Is   it   not   something   to  be  proud  of  ? 
To  have  been  at  the  birth — to  have  been  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  such  a  university,   and  one  of  the  intellectual   fathers 
of  such  a  brood  of  sons  and    daughters  as  I  see   before  me 
to-night  ?     I  reckon  it  as  the  chiefest  glory  of  my  life. 

The  audience  then  sang  "For  He's  a  Jolly  Good 
Fellow"  and  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  after  which  there 
was  a  general  hand-shaking  with  the  Professor  and 
reception,  closing  a  delightful  and  most  satisfactory 
gathering. 


(16) 


14  DAY  USE 

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